“What are you thinking, God?!”

Yesterday, I sat in another doctor’s office…another one of my children, another painful diagnosis. I felt the doubt creep in. Aching for my child, my heart whispered, “What are you thinking, God?!” My mama instincts longed to fix things for my girl. I’m sick and tired of watching my children suffer.

Then, a wise friend reminded me that nothing passes through His hands without a purpose. Even this painful situation is meant to groom my daughter into the person He designed her to be. Just as my own hurts have, these experiences can lead her into exactly what I’ve been praying for for her since the day she was born…a deeper relationship with her Heavenly Father.

Even still, my heart will break from time to time. Nothing can make this part of parenting easier. This pain is raw and real. It’s part of the territory. Yet, knowing that God is working all things, even the things that hurt, together for good…brings a peace that surpasses all understanding. (Romans 8:28, Philippians 4:7)

This journey continues to open my eyes to the sovereignty of God. To His deep love for His people and His intricate plans to prosper us, not just in spite of our trials, but through them. Our children, like all of His creations, were designed to bring Him glory…in what they excel at, and in what they struggle with. Everything He does, every person He creates, reveals His glory and majesty. (Psalm 111:3) So, as I face the next chapter in my story, as difficult and scary as it may be, I can do so with the confidence that every single detail is weaved together by the hands of The One who loves me and my children with an everlasting, never-giving-up, all-encompassing love. To Him be the glory.